Gov. Whitmer echoes CDC, lifts mask mandates for fully vaccinated Michigan residents
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Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, fully vaccinated Michigan residents no longer have to wear face masks indoors or out, and all residents, regardless of vaccination status, are no longer required to mask up outside. Masks, however, remain mandatory for unvaccinated people while gathering indoors.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the updated Gatherings and Mask Order on Friday, following a similar set of guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccinated Americans on Thursday, a day President Joe Biden hailed as “a great day for America in our long battle with the coronavirus.” Per Whitmer's release, all of Michigan's mask mandate is set to expire on July 1.
We’ve trusted scientists and experts to keep us safe during the pandemic, and it’s worked. With millions of Michiganders fully vaccinated, we can now safely take the next step to get back to normal. Vaccines protect you and your loved ones, if you haven’t already, sign up today. pic.twitter.com/zjXoKeSQDW
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) May 14, 2021
“With millions of Michiganders fully vaccinated, we can now safely and confidently take the next step to get back to normal,” Whitmer said in a press release Friday. “The message is clear: vaccines work to protect you and your loved ones. If you have not yet received your vaccine, now is the time to sign up. This pandemic has been one of the toughest challenges of our lifetimes, but we came together as a state to persevere. We have all been working incredibly hard toward getting back to some sense of normalcy, and today's news makes all of that work worthwhile.”
Per the CDC's update, masks are still required for everyone regardless of vaccination status while traveling on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation, and it recommends that fully vaccinated people continue mask-wearing while in nursing homes, prisons, and homeless shelters.
Fully vaccinated people are defined as those who have waited two weeks since receiving the final of two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Currently, about 36% of people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated and more than 55.6% of Michigan residents ages 16 and older have received at least one dose and 43% are fully vaccinated. As of this week, the state has also begun administering the vaccine to 12-15-year-olds.
Whitmer's latest update does not, however, override Michigan's gathering order, which requires that 70% of Michigan residents have at least one dose before the state lifts all mask and gathering mandates and limitations. As of Thursday, the state is just 1.1 million people shy of that major benchmark.
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